Ptolemaic Kingdom: Did you mean...?

This marble statue of a dwarf was sculpted around 332-150 BCE and is believed to have originated in Alexandria, Egypt. The dancing figure may have held cultic associations as dwarves were linked to Greek religious practice and were often...

Different cultural traditions met in Hellenistic Egypt, as this small silver wine vase illustrates (11 cm in height; ca. 200-150 BCE; APM inv. no. 3397). It is decorated with acanthus and lotus leaves, floral motifs from respectively Greece...

Ptolemy of Mauretania (r. 23-40 CE) was king of Mauretania and one of the last surviving members of the Ptolemaic dynasty. His father Juba II (c. 48 BCE to 23 CE) was a Numidian royal and his mother Cleopatra Selene II (40 to c. 5 BCE) was...

Arsinoë IV (d. 41 BCE) was a Ptolemaic princess who rebelled against her sister Cleopatra VII during the Alexandrian War in 48 BCE. After being defeated by Cleopatra's ally Julius Caesar, she was a captive in his Roman triumph. Arsinoë later...

Ancient Egyptian literature comprises a wide array of narrative and poetic forms including inscriptions on tombs, stele, obelisks, and temples; myths, stories, and legends; religious writings; philosophical works; wisdom literature; autobiographies...

The Faiyum (also given as Fayoum, Fayum, and Faiyum Oasis) was a region of ancient Egypt known for its fertility and the abundance of plant and animal life. Located 62 miles (100 kilometers) south of Memphis (modern Cairo), the Faiyum was...

Memphis was one of the oldest and most important cities in ancient Egypt, located at the entrance to the Nile River Valley near the Giza plateau. It served as the capital of ancient Egypt and an important religious cult center. The original...

Serapis is a Graeco-Egyptian god of the Ptolemaic Period (323-30 BCE) of Egypt developed by the monarch Ptolemy I Soter (r. 305-282 BCE) as part of his vision to unite his Egyptian and Greek subjects. Serapis’ cult later spread throughout...

A silver coin of Alexandria depicting Alexander the Great. Reign of Ptolemy I (366 BCE – 282 BCE). (British Museum, London)

The Narmer Palette, an ancient Egyptian ceremonial engraving, depicts the great king Narmer (c. 3150 BCE) conquering his enemies with the support and approval of his gods. This piece, dating from c. 3200-3000 BCE, was initially thought to...